Ukraine and Russia: What you need to know right now

* In the months since Russia invaded Ukraine, Britain has become an important go-between for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in his quest to arm his country with Western weapons, officials in Britain and the United States told Reuters. QUOTES * "They took away my spring, they took away my summer, and now they've taken away seven more years of my life," Alexei Gorinov, a Moscow district councillor was quoted by his supporters as saying after he was handed down a seven year jail sentence for criticising Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (Compiled by Tomasz Janowski)

Ukraine's Western allies urged Russia to allow Kyiv to ship grain out to the world as the four-month-old war threatened to bring hunger to countries far away from the battlefields. FIGHTING

* Moscow's ambassador to London told Reuters Russia is unlikely to withdraw from a swathe of land across Ukraine's southern coast and will defeat Ukrainian forces in the entire eastern Donbas region. * Western high-precision weapons are helping Ukraine slow down Russia's invasion, but it does not have enough of them and soldiers need time to adapt to using them, a top Ukrainian security official said.

* Russia is likely concentrating its equipment in the direction of Siversk, about 8 km (4.9 miles) west of the current Russian front line, Britain's defence ministry said. Russian forces are likely pausing to replenish before undertaking new offensive operations in the Donetsk region, while Ukrainian troops were preparing to push back another assault. * More young Russian men are looking to avoid the country’s mandatory military service since the conflict with Ukraine began in late February, some lawyers and rights advocates say.

DIPLOMACY/ECONOMY * U.S. Secretary of State Blinken addressed Russia directly at the G20 foreign ministers meeting and called on Moscow to let Ukrainian grain out to the world, a Western official said.

* G20 foreign ministers called for an end to the war and grain blockade in Ukraine, as Russia's top diplomat walked out of a meeting and denounced the West for "frenzied criticism" and squandering a chance to tackle global economic problems. * President Vladimir Putin said that continued sanctions against Russia could lead to "catastrophic" energy price rises for European consumers.

* Russia warned Lithuania and the European Union they could face "harsh measures" if the transit of some goods to and from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad did not resume. Lithuania banned the transit of goods subject to EU sanctions. * In the months since Russia invaded Ukraine, Britain has become an important go-between for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in his quest to arm his country with Western weapons, officials in Britain and the United States told Reuters.

QUOTES * "They took away my spring, they took away my summer, and now they've taken away seven more years of my life," Alexei Gorinov, a Moscow district councillor was quoted by his supporters as saying after he was handed down a seven year jail sentence for criticising Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

(Compiled by Tomasz Janowski)